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More Than an Umbrella Construct

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In line with these long-standing calls, Jill Brown argues that within the domain of business and society, and arguably of management and organization studies more broadly, we still need to pay more attention to context theorizing.

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 19, 2024

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This video video discusses the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its evolution as an "umbrella term" that encompasses various obligations of businesses to society. Initially criticized in a 2010 article by Gand and Crane for being theoretically vague and lacking empirical evidence in measuring corporate social performance, the speaker argues that significant progress has been made since then. They assert that CSR has become better defined and measurable, with ongoing research pushing for specific social impact assessments.

The speaker emphasizes that CSR should not be conflated with stakeholder theory, as they are distinct concepts. CSR covers four key dimensions: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary obligations. While it is often perceived solely as philanthropic, all four aspects are essential for understanding how businesses relate to society.

The discussion also highlights the importance of context in CSR theorizing. Contextual factors—global, cultural, institutional, and organizational—play crucial roles in shaping CSR practices and outcomes. The speaker points to various studies that illustrate how CSR functions differently across regions and industries, suggesting that context should guide CSR approaches.

Finally, the text advocates for more qualitative and quantitative research to validate CSR's impact, encouraging scholars to investigate diverse contexts where CSR initiatives yield social effects. The notion is that businesses can indeed contribute positively to society through effective CSR strategies while pursuing their financial objectives.

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Here are some articles and topics that are similar to the video you , which discusses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its evolution:

1. **"The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Historical Perspective"** - This article would cover the historical development of CSR as a concept, discussing its roots and how perceptions have changed over time.

2. **"Measuring Corporate Social Performance: Advances and Challenges"** - Focused on the challenges and methodologies in assessing corporate social performance, this article would delve into the need for empirical metrics and frameworks in CSR.

3. **"CSR vs. Stakeholder Theory: Understanding the Differences"** - This piece would provide a comprehensive analysis of CSR and stakeholder theory, clarifying their distinctions and explaining how they interrelate in business practices.

4. **"Global Perspectives on CSR: How Culture and Convideo Influence Practices"** - An exploration of how CSR initiatives vary by region, taking into account cultural, economic, and institutional factors that shape corporate behaviors in different convideos.

5. **"The Role of Ethics in Corporate Social Responsibility"** - This article would focus on the ethical dimensions of CSR, discussing how ethical obligations influence corporate decision-making and social accountability.

6. **"The Impact of CSR on Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis"** - A scholarly examination that reviews existing studies on the relationship between CSR activities and financial outcomes for businesses, supporting or contesting the notion that CSR can align with financial goals.

7. **"Corporate Philanthropy: Beyond Just Giving"** - An analysis of corporate philanthropic efforts, discussing how they fit into the broader framework of CSR and the importance of integrating philanthropic initiatives with business strategy.

8. **"Convideoualizing Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Markets"** - This article would address how CSR initiatives are implemented in emerging economies, examining specific case studies that illustrate unique challenges and opportunities.

9. **"Integrating CSR Into Corporate Strategy: Best Practices"** - A guide for businesses looking to embed CSR into their strategic planning processes, providing practical insights and case studies of successful integration.

10. **"CSR Research: The Need for Innovative Approaches"** - A call to action for researchers to explore innovative methodologies in studying CSR's effects, looking at qualitative and quantitative research approaches.

These articles would provide a deeper understanding of the themes you presented in your video about CSR, emphasizing its complexities, convideoual factors, and importance in modern business practices.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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Why has CSR become an umbrella term?

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Well, research scholars have seen it

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as a very broad concept,

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and it's, it's about the obligations of business to society.

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So, in essence, it is a pretty broad term.

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However, the, the idea that

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CSR might simply be an umbrella construct was actually,

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positive in an article by, two authors, Gand

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and Crane in 2010, in the Business

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and Society Journal, where this current article,

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this editorial we've, we've put there about CSR

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as an umbrella term, originated from.

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So Gand Crane in 2010 suggested that it is

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a construct that is still very theoretical.

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Theoretically, ill-defined

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and lacks empirical validity in the measures of its outcome,

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corporate social performance.

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And, perhaps back in 2010 that was true.

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But I do, I don't quite agree with that.

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I think we've come a long way in defining

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and measuring corporate social responsibility.

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Um, and in fact, not only have we come a long way,

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I actually think that kind of helped us to push even further

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to find better measures of corporate social performance.

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In fact, a recent article by, Michael Barnett,

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a Remi Henrique

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and Brian Husted, in the journal,

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also cited the idea

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that corporate social responsibility initiatives should be

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pushed to go even further to account for social impact.

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Again, more specific outcomes

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to corporate social responsibility.

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So that's good. Um,

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but I also think some of the idea

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of corporate social responsibility as an umbrella term

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when it's used as a criticism, it also comes from people

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that often conflate stakeholder theory

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with corporate social responsibilities.

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And that's problematic,

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because these are two very distinct concepts.

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Stakeholder theory is about the exchanges that take place

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between a business and its ecosystem of stakeholders.

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Corporate social responsibility is less about the exchanges.

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And again, really goes back to that very broad,

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what are the obligations of business

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to society as a whole?

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So it is a broader term,

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but also people fail to remember

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that corporate social responsibility has four dimensions

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to it, the economic, legal,

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ethical, and the discretionary

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philanthropic elements to it.

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And these are all the considerations that are important

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to business and its relationship to broad society.

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So, people often think

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of corporate social responsibility as

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that discretionary element at the top of the old pyramid

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of corporate social responsibility.

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But in essence, under the obligations of a business

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to society, they have to make money.

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So they have to stay in business, the economic, they have

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to be legal to stay in business as well.

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It's expected that they are ethical,

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that businesses are performing ethically,

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and it's really hope.

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We desire, we hope that businesses are philanthropic.

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So again, why has corporate social responsibility been

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considered an umbrella term?

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Because of its broad nature, I tend to take a more

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optimistic view of that umbrella term,

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as a good thing, and,

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and take it less from a critical standpoint,

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that it is not specific enough or it, it's ill-defined.

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And all that being said, when my co-authors at Business,

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business and Society and myself wrote this editorial about

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CSRs as an umbrella term

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and using context for theorizing,

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this is where we see the benefits of context to continue

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to push and push that construct

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of corporate social responsibility towards those

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measurable outcomes.

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So the benefits of using context

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for theorizing around CSR is it encourages a very

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diversity related

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or a diversity oriented research agenda.

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One that explains the heterogeneity

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and variations of how businesses approach CSR.

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It also helps us to better understand the motivations

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of business and towards corporate social responsibility.

04:59.315 --> 05:01.295
So there's, there are a lot of benefits

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to this in the article.

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We also, we highlight, like, one great example

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of this is Dima Jamali, Dima Jamali,

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and her co-authors published a study in 2017 in the journal

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where they look at the institutionalization

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of CSR in developing country settings.

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So they dive deeply into small and medium sized businesses,

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and they actually look at the, the football manufacturing

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industry in North India.

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It's a rich context that helps us understand how CSR is used

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and applied in a different setting.

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Uh, and I encourage people to take a look at that,

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that article as well.

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So those are some of the benefit of theorizing

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through context, and there are many more of them.

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We have another one about the oil

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and mining industry by Kathy Rabine and Trish Olson.

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It's just really rich. It's an empirical study.

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So we've come a long way since 2010.

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Um, but, but more left to do, of course, this article

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actually was produced by the Business and Society Journal.

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I wrote the article with my,

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my co-editors from the journal.

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And I was, I felt it was really important

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to begin discussions around corporate social responsibility

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with this idea that oftentimes it's been talked about

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as a, an umbrella term.

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And when I say it's been talked about that way back in 2010,

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there were, two scholars, train and,

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and Gand who came up with this, kind of,

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I would say somewhat cynical,

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article about corporate social responsibility.

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And said that they felt

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that it was very theoretically ill-defined

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and lacked some empirical validity in the measures

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of its outcome, corporate social performance.

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So I decided it was about time that we got together

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and addressed that and, really talked about the idea

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that yes, CSR may be considered an umbrella term

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because it's very broad.

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You know, broadly, the concept

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of corporate social responsibility is about the obligations

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of business to and within society.

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So just by definition, that's very broad

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and might be considered an, an umbrella term, right?

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But the idea that it's theoretically ill-defined,

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I feel we've come a long way in the last 12 to 15 years.

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We could certainly do a little bit better.

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And maybe by context theorizing, that's

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where I've started talking about context theorizing.

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We could do that, and I'll talk

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about that in a minute, of course.

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But I have to say again, I think we've come a long way

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in defining and measuring corporate social responsibility.

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That though that conversation about

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that umbrella term has even pushed us

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to do a little bit better

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and a little bit more in terms of measuring.

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So for example, there's been a recent article that came out

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by, by, Michael Barnett, Irene,

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Henrique and Brian Houston.

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And their article about was about designing CSR initiatives

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and saying that we should push ourselves as researchers

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and as businesses

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to be even more specific about the outcomes

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of corporate social responsibility

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and actually measure social impact.

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So, you know, I think we're pushing ourselves by,

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by actually referring to it as an umbrella con con concept

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to do even better in measuring it.

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The other problem I see though, is that I see that people

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tend to conflate stakeholder theory

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with corporate social responsibility.

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And that's a problem if,

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if they're saying CSR is an umbrella construct, I often say,

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well, let's make sure you're defining CSR correctly,

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and that you're not conflating it with stakeholder theory.

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Because stakeholder theory is about exchanges.

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It's about the exchanges that take place between a business

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and its ecosystem of stakeholders.

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Corporate social responsibility is not necessarily about

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the exchanges.

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So it's again, about the obligations of business

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to society.

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So it's a broader term by definition.

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Um, and the last thing I'll say about the term itself is

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that people often forget that it

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actually incorporates four different dimensions.

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Corporate social responsibility is about the economic,

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legal, ethical, and discretionary

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or philanthropic obligations of business to society.

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So people will often think of it just in that philanthropic

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side of it, the, the top of the old pyramid.

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Um, but it's really,

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it incorporates all of those elements.

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So to say that, CSR is only discretionary

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that philanthropic never forget that.

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It does involve the economic businesses have

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to make money to stay in business.

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So, but they also,

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and they have to be legal to stay in business.

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We expect them to be ethical,

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and we, we hope that there'll be,

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philanthropic on top of it.

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So all of, for all of those reasons, I see that yes,

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CSR is broad enough to be considered an umbrella term,

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but with the criticism about that, that it is ill-defined,

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and that it is,

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empirically it hasn't been empirically validated,

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I kind of push against that.

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'cause we come a long way since there are a lot of benefits

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as well to theorizing through context.

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I think that's the next step, right?

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Talking about how we theorize through context.

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And, there are a couple important

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points along those lines.

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So the benefits of theorizing through context is

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that it, in it encourages a real, what we call a diverse

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oriented research agenda, when that kind

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of explains the heterogeneity and the variations

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and how businesses approach corporate social responsibility.

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So one of, again, one of the benefits, it encourages,

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you know, not a one size fits all.

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It allows us to see how CSR is used in different contexts.

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And it also helps to explain kind of

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and understand the motivations

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of a business towards corporate social responsibility.

11:59.645 --> 12:02.865
So one of the things that we do in this article about,

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exploring the context theorizing,

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is we point to a couple articles.

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So for example, Dima Jamali,

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and her co-authors published a really nice article in our

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journal, the Business

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and Society Journal about the football manufacturing

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industry in North India.

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A fascinating article because they look at small

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and middle sized companies,

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and they kind of invoke a very critical perspective

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of CSR in that context.

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It actually helps them to

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be more specific in defining CSR as one

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that incorporates an awareness

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and the impact of the business on society on this wide range

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of stakeholders involved in this football,

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manufacturing industry in North India.

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So that's a great example of how context pushes us further

12:59.545 --> 13:02.085
to define CSR for small

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and middle size companies, again, not a one

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size fits all cons, it can be by region.

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So there can be cultural aspects, that

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where CSR varies across different kinds of organizations,

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but also broadly globally, how it can,

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it can change and vary depending on the,

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the global context of a business.

13:27.675 --> 13:29.535
Um, you can, so you can think about, you know,

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cultural aspects broadly, again, by different organizations,

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different industries, or globally.

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I think you can take it to the institutional level

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and talk about the institutional things, aspects

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that are con that provide context

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to corporate social responsibility.

13:48.075 --> 13:52.295
So for an example, another thing that I've been, a type

13:52.295 --> 13:53.495
of research that I've been thrilled

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to see is the research done in India

13:57.395 --> 14:00.415
on their mandates at the institutional level,

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at the government level, how their mandates

14:03.275 --> 14:07.415
for corporate social responsibility have, come across

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and, and been embraced by businesses and has it been good

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or has it been bad?

14:14.315 --> 14:16.095
You know, those kind of context framing

14:16.095 --> 14:20.615
around institutional, context can,

14:20.915 --> 14:22.735
can create new discussions

14:22.955 --> 14:26.415
and new theorizing on corporate social responsibility.

14:26.955 --> 14:29.775
If we wanna take a North American viewpoint,

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you can think about the government regulations

14:32.715 --> 14:36.295
or maybe even the mandates on the stock exchanges around,

14:36.635 --> 14:37.975
sustainability

14:38.635 --> 14:43.455
and, new measures that are, if not mandated,

14:44.575 --> 14:47.855
encouraged along the lines of e, s and G.

14:48.235 --> 14:51.685
So again, those are some of the, so that's cultural,

14:51.865 --> 14:53.685
the institutional, the global,

14:54.185 --> 14:55.885
and then you can even take it down

14:56.465 --> 15:00.805
to the organizational level and talk about maybe the CEO

15:01.465 --> 15:04.525
and the board and the top management team

15:04.905 --> 15:08.525
and how some of their behaviors that context

15:09.465 --> 15:11.325
shapes the decision making

15:11.865 --> 15:14.445
around corporate social responsibility.

15:14.905 --> 15:18.405
So you can see, you asked about what are the, the aspects

15:18.585 --> 15:21.005
of context, and I've kind of broken it down

15:21.025 --> 15:23.525
to this article actually was produced

15:23.545 --> 15:25.445
by the Business and Society Journal.

15:25.525 --> 15:27.365
I been pretty controversial.

15:28.065 --> 15:32.485
Um, does it actually encourage the kinds

15:32.485 --> 15:34.925
of corporate social responsibility initiatives

15:34.925 --> 15:36.925
that provide social impact

15:37.625 --> 15:41.645
or does it allow companies to checklist for things

15:41.715 --> 15:43.565
that they wanted to do anyway

15:44.065 --> 15:46.565
and now they get some help from the government.

15:46.905 --> 15:51.405
So that is a rich context and a good example of the cultural

15:51.425 --> 15:52.725
and global aspects,

15:53.265 --> 15:55.365
and that now the institutional aspects,

15:55.495 --> 15:56.765
government level, right?

15:57.265 --> 15:59.165
If you wanna take a North American context,

15:59.345 --> 16:03.445
we can talk about some of the, mandates

16:03.745 --> 16:08.005
or rules and regulations around reporting,

16:08.545 --> 16:12.445
of, of sustainability initiatives or,

16:12.665 --> 16:15.285
or the kind of, even the implicit mandates

16:15.305 --> 16:20.125
around better social auditing or sustainability issues

16:20.345 --> 16:23.165
and climate change issues or hiring issues.

16:23.465 --> 16:28.445
So all of those things, can shape, the,

16:28.665 --> 16:30.565
the focal processes

16:30.565 --> 16:34.805
and outcomes associated with CSR take it down one more level

16:35.465 --> 16:39.005
to the, to the top management team, CEO.

16:39.025 --> 16:43.165
The boards of directors and their decision making,

16:44.115 --> 16:46.895
or even their behavioral aspects,

16:47.035 --> 16:49.935
in their decision making can inform

16:50.035 --> 16:52.175
and shape corporate social responsibility

16:52.175 --> 16:53.215
processes and outcomes.

16:53.355 --> 16:55.695
So these are just a few examples,

16:55.755 --> 16:57.415
but you can see, I, I tend to think

16:57.415 --> 16:59.495
of it at different levels of analysis,

16:59.835 --> 17:04.735
and that's the beauty of, this broad construct

17:04.835 --> 17:06.695
of corporate social responsibility

17:06.695 --> 17:10.735
because we can look at multi-level, aspects.

17:11.755 --> 17:14.295
Um, and then in, in terms of this,

17:14.435 --> 17:18.695
the long-term social impact of CSR policies,

17:19.395 --> 17:24.085
again, I'm very Pollyanna-ish in my approach to this.

17:24.265 --> 17:26.485
For those who don't know what that means, it means I'm

17:27.205 --> 17:29.045
hopelessly optimistic all the time

17:29.655 --> 17:32.645
about corporate social responsibility and performance.

17:32.825 --> 17:35.645
And the long-term social impacts of,

17:36.185 --> 17:40.775
of strong CSR policies is business growth,

17:41.555 --> 17:43.335
better stakeholder engagement

17:43.355 --> 17:46.775
and retention, customer retention and loyalty,

17:47.595 --> 17:51.925
but also community growth, the potential

17:51.925 --> 17:56.005
for address addressing inequities along the social impacts

17:56.475 --> 17:58.005
that businesses can have.

17:58.665 --> 18:02.015
So the, the, the long-term social impact

18:02.155 --> 18:06.295
of corporate social responsibility policies, CSR policies

18:06.295 --> 18:09.425
and initiatives, the world is there.

18:09.905 --> 18:13.345
I mean, businesses I firmly believe, believe businesses

18:14.005 --> 18:15.185
are a force for good.

18:15.565 --> 18:17.865
That's actually my university's motto.

18:18.485 --> 18:21.745
And, and the way that we use,

18:21.985 --> 18:24.185
businesses can use corporate social responsibility can

18:24.185 --> 18:25.625
have huge impacts.

18:26.405 --> 18:30.105
Uh, it, it doesn't have to just be with nonprofits

18:30.565 --> 18:34.105
or social entrepreneurs who are also wonderful,

18:34.125 --> 18:35.585
groups of businesses.

18:36.085 --> 18:39.025
Um, they, they are also wonderful groups of businesses.

18:39.085 --> 18:42.025
But, but business, even in their quest

18:42.605 --> 18:46.865
for bottom line profits have the opportunity

18:47.525 --> 18:50.385
to do so to provide social impact as well.

18:51.105 --> 18:52.485
And that's part of CSR.

18:53.045 --> 18:56.165
Remember, economic, legal, ethical and discretion.

18:56.425 --> 19:00.805
The, the implications of this is really, it's, it's,

19:01.715 --> 19:02.805
it's encouraging.

19:03.615 --> 19:05.315
So the implications are that

19:05.855 --> 19:08.435
we think there are a lot more opportunities.

19:08.995 --> 19:10.155
Business and society scholars,

19:10.235 --> 19:12.875
CSR scholars think there are a lot more opportunities

19:13.695 --> 19:15.515
for being a little bit more granular,

19:16.385 --> 19:19.595
less broad maybe on corporate social performance

19:19.615 --> 19:20.955
and social impacts.

19:21.495 --> 19:25.435
So if we think about that, the idea of social impact,

19:25.785 --> 19:29.995
then this call for more research, helps with that.

19:30.135 --> 19:32.195
The call for more research around context.

19:33.145 --> 19:37.195
Tell us, give us the, the qualitative,

19:37.755 --> 19:42.075
ethnographic studies that point to,

19:42.495 --> 19:44.235
you know, long-term social impact.

19:44.855 --> 19:46.595
So more qualitative research.

19:46.795 --> 19:47.995
I think that's a, that's a great thing

19:48.305 --> 19:49.675
because that also helps

19:49.675 --> 19:52.875
with our empirical validity, through context.

19:53.255 --> 19:55.355
You know, qualitative research,

19:55.465 --> 19:59.115
good qualitative field studies, ethnographic studies help us

19:59.535 --> 20:02.875
to, validate the concept of CSR.

20:03.375 --> 20:07.195
But then even on the more empirical quantitative side

20:07.195 --> 20:09.275
of things, we are getting better.

20:10.175 --> 20:13.275
The, institutions are getting better at identifying

20:13.325 --> 20:14.515
large databases

20:14.575 --> 20:19.355
and data sets that have gathered by companies, by,

20:19.495 --> 20:21.795
by social responsible investments.

20:22.115 --> 20:25.315
SRI funds around socially responsible companies.

20:25.655 --> 20:28.835
So there's more and better data out there every day

20:29.345 --> 20:30.635
that relies less

20:30.635 --> 20:33.715
and less on the self-report measures from businesses.

20:33.975 --> 20:38.595
So we have more, more triangulation, I would say,

20:38.655 --> 20:42.355
and opportunities for that in context theorizing.

20:43.275 --> 20:46.735
So there you go. Those are the implications of the review.

20:47.225 --> 20:50.085
Review. And again, it points to the fact that we need

20:50.775 --> 20:54.745
need, we are encouraging more and broader context.

20:55.275 --> 20:59.925
Let's give us more global companies, give us more,

21:00.095 --> 21:03.045
event studies after a certain institutional mandate,

21:03.395 --> 21:07.325
something happens, on the social impact side.

21:07.545 --> 21:11.565
So again, we put in, in this article, we talk about a lot

21:11.625 --> 21:16.005
of implications for this, including this, you know,

21:16.005 --> 21:19.045
looking at the, these differences in the interpretations,

21:19.145 --> 21:20.765
the assumptions and the constructs

21:20.765 --> 21:22.445
and the methodologies around corporate social

21:22.445 --> 21:23.205
responsibility.

Understanding CSR as an Umbrella Term

00:00:00 - Why has CSR become an umbrella term? Well, research scholars have seen it as a very broad concept, and it's, it's about the obligations of business to society. So, in essence, it is a pretty broad term. However, the, the idea that CSR might simply be an umbrella construct was actually, positive in an article by, two authors, Gand and Crane in 2010, in the Business
00:00:36 - this editorial we've, we've put there about CSR as an umbrella term, originated from. So Gand Crane in 2010 suggested that it is a construct that is still very theoretical. Theoretically, ill-defined and lacks empirical validity in the measures of its outcome, corporate social performance. And, perhaps back in 2010 that was true.
00:01:06 - I think we've come a long way in defining and measuring corporate social responsibility. and in fact, not only have we come a long way, I actually think that kind of helped us to push even further to find better measures of corporate social performance. In fact, a recent article by, Michael Barnett, a Remi Henrique and Brian Husted, in the journal,
00:01:37 - that corporate social responsibility initiatives should be pushed to go even further to account for social impact. Again, more specific outcomes to corporate social responsibility. So that's good. but I also think some of the idea of corporate social responsibility as an umbrella term when it's used as a criticism, it also comes from people that often conflate stakeholder theory with corporate social responsibilities.
00:02:10 - because these are two very distinct concepts. Stakeholder theory is about the exchanges that take place between a business and its ecosystem of stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility is less about the exchanges. And again, really goes back to that very broad, what are the obligations of business to society as a whole? So it is a broader term,
00:02:42 - that corporate social responsibility has four dimensions to it, the economic, legal, ethical, and the discretionary philanthropic elements to it. And these are all the considerations that are important to business and its relationship to broad society. So, people often think of corporate social responsibility as that discretionary element at the top of the old pyramid

Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility as an Umbrella Concept

00:03:12 - But in essence, under the obligations of a business to society, they have to make money. So they have to stay in business, the economic, they have to be legal to stay in business as well. It's expected that they are ethical, that businesses are performing ethically, and it's really hope. We desire, we hope that businesses are philanthropic. So again, why has corporate social responsibility been considered an umbrella term?
00:03:45 - optimistic view of that umbrella term, as a good thing, and, and take it less from a critical standpoint, that it is not specific enough or it, it's ill-defined. And all that being said, when my co-authors at Business, business and Society and myself wrote this editorial about CSRs as an umbrella term and using context for theorizing,
00:04:18 - to push and push that construct of corporate social responsibility towards those measurable outcomes. So the benefits of using context for theorizing around CSR is it encourages a very diversity related or a diversity oriented research agenda. One that explains the heterogeneity
00:04:51 - It also helps us to better understand the motivations of business and towards corporate social responsibility. So there's, there are a lot of benefits to this in the article. We also, we highlight, like, one great example of this is Dima Jamali, Dima Jamali, and her co-authors published a study in 2017 in the journal where they look at the institutionalization
00:05:22 - So they dive deeply into small and medium sized businesses, and they actually look at the, the football manufacturing industry in North India. It's a rich context that helps us understand how CSR is used and applied in a different setting. and I encourage people to take a look at that, that article as well. So those are some of the benefit of theorizing
00:05:50 - We have another one about the oil and mining industry by Kathy Rabine and Trish Olson. It's just really rich. It's an empirical study. So we've come a long way since 2010. but, but more left to do, of course, this article actually was produced by the Business and Society Journal. I wrote the article with my, my co-editors from the journal. And I was, I felt it was really important to begin discussions around corporate social responsibility

Clarifying Corporate Social Responsibility as an Umbrella

00:06:23 - as a, an umbrella term. And when I say it's been talked about that way back in 2010, there were, two scholars, train and, and Gand who came up with this, kind of, I would say somewhat cynical, article about corporate social responsibility. And said that they felt that it was very theoretically ill-defined
00:06:53 - of its outcome, corporate social performance. So I decided it was about time that we got together and addressed that and, really talked about the idea that yes, CSR may be considered an umbrella term because it's very broad. You know, broadly, the concept of corporate social responsibility is about the obligations of business to and within society.
00:07:22 - and might be considered an, an umbrella term, right? But the idea that it's theoretically ill-defined, I feel we've come a long way in the last 12 to 15 years. We could certainly do a little bit better. And maybe by context theorizing, that's where I've started talking about context theorizing. We could do that, and I'll talk about that in a minute, of course. But I have to say again, I think we've come a long way
00:07:55 - That though that conversation about that umbrella term has even pushed us to do a little bit better and a little bit more in terms of measuring. So for example, there's been a recent article that came out by, by, Michael Barnett, Irene, Henrique and Brian Houston. And their article about was about designing CSR initiatives and saying that we should push ourselves as researchers
00:08:25 - to be even more specific about the outcomes of corporate social responsibility and actually measure social impact. So, you know, I think we're pushing ourselves by, by actually referring to it as an umbrella con con concept to do even better in measuring it. The other problem I see though, is that I see that people tend to conflate stakeholder theory with corporate social responsibility.
00:08:56 - if they're saying CSR is an umbrella construct, I often say, well, let's make sure you're defining CSR correctly, and that you're not conflating it with stakeholder theory. Because stakeholder theory is about exchanges. It's about the exchanges that take place between a business and its ecosystem of stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility is not necessarily about the exchanges.

Dimensions and Context of Corporate Social Responsibility

00:09:29 - to society. So it's a broader term by definition. and the last thing I'll say about the term itself is that people often forget that it actually incorporates four different dimensions. Corporate social responsibility is about the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary
00:10:00 - So people will often think of it just in that philanthropic side of it, the, the top of the old pyramid. but it's really, it incorporates all of those elements. So to say that, CSR is only discretionary that philanthropic never forget that. It does involve the economic businesses have to make money to stay in business.
00:10:29 - and they have to be legal to stay in business. We expect them to be ethical, and we, we hope that there'll be, philanthropic on top of it. So all of, for all of those reasons, I see that yes, CSR is broad enough to be considered an umbrella term, but with the criticism about that, that it is ill-defined, and that it is, empirically it hasn't been empirically validated,
00:11:01 - 'cause we come a long way since there are a lot of benefits as well to theorizing through context. I think that's the next step, right? Talking about how we theorize through context. And, there are a couple important points along those lines. So the benefits of theorizing through context is that it, in it encourages a real, what we call a diverse oriented research agenda, when that kind
00:11:34 - and how businesses approach corporate social responsibility. So one of, again, one of the benefits, it encourages, you know, not a one size fits all. It allows us to see how CSR is used in different contexts. And it also helps to explain kind of and understand the motivations of a business towards corporate social responsibility. So one of the things that we do in this article about,
00:12:06 - is we point to a couple articles. So for example, Dima Jamali, and her co-authors published a really nice article in our journal, the Business and Society Journal about the football manufacturing industry in North India. A fascinating article because they look at small and middle sized companies, and they kind of invoke a very critical perspective of CSR in that context.

Contextual Variations in Corporate Social Responsibility

00:12:37 - be more specific in defining CSR as one that incorporates an awareness and the impact of the business on society on this wide range of stakeholders involved in this football, manufacturing industry in North India. So that's a great example of how context pushes us further to define CSR for small and middle size companies, again, not a one
00:13:09 - So there can be cultural aspects, that where CSR varies across different kinds of organizations, but also broadly globally, how it can, it can change and vary depending on the, the global context of a business. you can, so you can think about, you know, cultural aspects broadly, again, by different organizations, different industries, or globally.
00:13:38 - and talk about the institutional things, aspects that are con that provide context to corporate social responsibility. So for an example, another thing that I've been, a type of research that I've been thrilled to see is the research done in India on their mandates at the institutional level, at the government level, how their mandates for corporate social responsibility have, come across
00:14:12 - or has it been bad? You know, those kind of context framing around institutional, context can, can create new discussions and new theorizing on corporate social responsibility. If we wanna take a North American viewpoint, you can think about the government regulations or maybe even the mandates on the stock exchanges around, sustainability
00:14:44 - encouraged along the lines of e, s and G. So again, those are some of the, so that's cultural, the institutional, the global, and then you can even take it down to the organizational level and talk about maybe the CEO and the board and the top management team and how some of their behaviors that context
00:15:11 - around corporate social responsibility. So you can see, you asked about what are the, the aspects of context, and I've kind of broken it down to this article actually was produced by the Business and Society Journal. I been pretty controversial. does it actually encourage the kinds of corporate social responsibility initiatives that provide social impact or does it allow companies to checklist for things

Contextual Influences on Corporate Social Responsibility

00:15:44 - and now they get some help from the government. So that is a rich context and a good example of the cultural and global aspects, and that now the institutional aspects, government level, right? If you wanna take a North American context, we can talk about some of the, mandates or rules and regulations around reporting, of, of sustainability initiatives or,
00:16:15 - around better social auditing or sustainability issues and climate change issues or hiring issues. So all of those things, can shape, the, the focal processes and outcomes associated with CSR take it down one more level to the, to the top management team, CEO. The boards of directors and their decision making,
00:16:47 - in their decision making can inform and shape corporate social responsibility processes and outcomes. So these are just a few examples, but you can see, I, I tend to think of it at different levels of analysis, and that's the beauty of, this broad construct of corporate social responsibility because we can look at multi-level, aspects. and then in, in terms of this,
00:17:19 - again, I'm very Pollyanna-ish in my approach to this. For those who don't know what that means, it means I'm hopelessly optimistic all the time about corporate social responsibility and performance. And the long-term social impacts of, of strong CSR policies is business growth, better stakeholder engagement and retention, customer retention and loyalty,
00:17:51 - for address addressing inequities along the social impacts that businesses can have. So the, the, the long-term social impact of corporate social responsibility policies, CSR policies and initiatives, the world is there. I mean, businesses I firmly believe, believe businesses are a force for good. That's actually my university's motto.
00:18:21 - businesses can use corporate social responsibility can have huge impacts. it, it doesn't have to just be with nonprofits or social entrepreneurs who are also wonderful, groups of businesses. they, they are also wonderful groups of businesses. But, but business, even in their quest for bottom line profits have the opportunity to do so to provide social impact as well.

Enhancing Research in Corporate Social Responsibility

00:18:53 - Remember, economic, legal, ethical and discretion. The, the implications of this is really, it's, it's, it's encouraging. So the implications are that we think there are a lot more opportunities. Business and society scholars, CSR scholars think there are a lot more opportunities for being a little bit more granular, less broad maybe on corporate social performance and social impacts.
00:19:25 - then this call for more research, helps with that. The call for more research around context. Tell us, give us the, the qualitative, ethnographic studies that point to, you know, long-term social impact. So more qualitative research. I think that's a, that's a great thing because that also helps with our empirical validity, through context.
00:19:55 - good qualitative field studies, ethnographic studies help us to, validate the concept of CSR. But then even on the more empirical quantitative side of things, we are getting better. The, institutions are getting better at identifying large databases and data sets that have gathered by companies, by, by social responsible investments. SRI funds around socially responsible companies.
00:20:29 - that relies less and less on the self-report measures from businesses. So we have more, more triangulation, I would say, and opportunities for that in context theorizing. So there you go. Those are the implications of the review. Review. And again, it points to the fact that we need need, we are encouraging more and broader context. Let's give us more global companies, give us more,
00:21:22 - something happens, on the social impact side. So again, we put in, in this article, we talk about a lot of implications for this, including this, you know, looking at the, these differences in the interpretations, the assumptions and the constructs and the methodologies around corporate social responsibility.

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